Governor for feed-regulators



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

K.DOUGAN. GOVERNOR FOR FEED REGULATORS.

No. 558,900. Patented Apr. 21, 1896.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet; 2. K. DOUGAN.- GOVERNOR FOR FEED REGULATORS.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shet s.

K. DOUGAN. GOVERNOR FOR EEEE REGULATORS.

No. 558,900. Patented Apr. 21, 1896.

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KENNEDY DOUGAN', OF MISSOULA, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR TO A. I. DOUGAN,

OF SALEM, MISSOURI.

GOVERNOR FO R FEED-REGULATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,900, dated April21, 1896.

Application filed October 10, 1892. Serial No. 448,357, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, KENNEDY DOUGAN, a citizen of the United States,residing in Missoula, Missoula county, Montana, have invented a new anduseful Governor for Feed- Regulators, of which the following is aspecification.

My improved feed-regulator is especially designed to regulate or governthe quantity,

1o amount, or number of pounds of grain fed from a bin, elevator, orother source of supply to a mill, meter, or other receiver orreceptacle. My invention may, however, be also employed to regulate thefeed of water,

meal, or other like substance or material.

IIeretofore the supply of grain and the like has usually been regulatedor governed by the weight of the material acting on the counterbalanceddoors'of feed-hoppers or of meters or by the weight of the grain insuspended chutes connected with the doors or gates of meters; but suchapparatus does not measure, control, or regulate the supply with thedesired accuracy.

The object of my invention is to accurately and uniformly feed for anylength of time any desired quantity, amount, or number of pounds perunit of time of grain, water, or other fluid or like substance.

0 My improvements are based on the fact that if a receiver, such as aplate or grid, is

placed under or in the course of a stream or current of grain, water, orthe like and is adjusted to stand at a given position it will al- 3 5ways maintain this position as long as the amount or quantity of thesubstance delivered to it remains the same, and it will move from thisposition and assume another position when the amount varies.

By causing the position of the gate to correspond with the position ofthe receiver a definite quantity of material may be fed to the receiver,and the receiver will usually maintain the same position; but, as iswell 5 known, the amount or number of pounds of material fed through thegrain-passage from the source of supply varies, andconsequently thenumber of pounds of material fed to the mill or other machine alsovaries.

In my machine a larger or smaller amount may pass the gate for a shorttime; but this change in the amount is immediately felt by the receiver,which is moved in either one direction or theother, and a correspondingmovement of the gate is caused, so that the gate is made to accommodate.itself to the pressure in the passage, closing to the desired extentwhen the pressure increases and opening when it decreases. It isevident, therefore, that by my improvements the quantity or amount ofgrain or other substance fed from a source of supply to a receiver orreceptacle may be determined in advance by suitably adjusting theapparatus, and an accurate account may be kept of the quantity passingfrom the supply.

As will be hereinafter more fully explained, the grain or othersubstance is directed against the receiver and operates upon it not onlyby its weight but by its momentum, and the action of the receiver doesnot depend upon the weight of the material, but is influenced also bythe rapidity with which the substance is delivered to it.

So far as I am aware no machine acting on the principles above set forthhas been devised prior to myinvention,and while I have shown in theaccompanying drawings, and will hereinafter describe, specific ways ofcarrying out my'invention, I do not wish to limit myself to the preciseorganizations of instrumentalities or the details of construction whichI have selected to illustrate my improvements, and the manner ofapplying them, but wish it understood that, so far as the broad featuresof my invention are concerned, I desire protection broad enough to coverany apparatus working in substantially the same way as the apparatusillustrated, for analogous purposes or for accomplishing the sameresults.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation, with partsbroken away, of my improvements applied to the feed-hopper of aroller-mill. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a verticalcentral section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail view, onan enlarged scale, of the gate-operating mechanism and thegate-adjusting devices. Fig. 5

is a view, partly in section, on the line 5 5 of Fig.4, of the principalparts of the same mech- Fig. 6 is detail view, on an enlarged anism.

trated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, of the draw ings.

Ordinary rolls A are shown mounted in a suitable casing B beneath afeed-hopper O, which may be connected with a chute leading to agrain-bin, elevator,or other source of supply. At the lower end of thehopper there is an opening 0, beneath which is a feed-roller c. Adjacentto the opening 0 and above the roller 0' is mounted a gate or valveD,secured by arms d to a horizontal shaft 1, mounted in bearings (l on theframe 13. This shaft is adapted to rock about its axis and to move thegate D in the arc of a circle to vary the size of the feed'opening ofthe hopper.

Below the rolls A is located what I term a receiver E, which may be aplate, or grid, or other device adapted to receive the grain deliveredby the rolls or passing from the source of supply to the finaldelivery-point. Preferably, however, this receiver is made in the formof a grid, as clearly shown in Fig. 0, so that the grain will notaccumulate on it, but will be merely resisted on its way through it.

The receiver has an arm 2, secured to a horizontal shaft 6, mounted inbearings at c 011 the frame A. An arm or lever F is secured to the shaft6 and is preferably provided with a stationary weight f at its outer endand with an adjustable weight f, adapted to slide back and forth towardand from the stationary weight f to counterbalance the receiverE,or,rather, to counterbalance it in such manner that it will stand at adetermined position against the force of the determined amount of graindelivered to it. The arm F may be graduated, as indicated, so that theposition of the weight f on the arm will determine the amount of grainto be fed past the feed gate.

A direct connection might be made from the receiver or its shaft 6 tothe feed-gate; but I prefer to employ intermediate devices in order thatthe action of the apparatus may be more uniform and will not be affectedby the friction of any of the parts of the mechanism or by the frictionor clogging caused by variations in the condition of the grain. Itherefore employ what I call gate-operatin g devices, which act on thegate to change its position, and gate-controlling devices, which controlor determine the action of the gate-operatin g devices, either toprevent their changing. the position of the gate or to change or adjustit to the desired extent. I11 carrying out these features of myinvention I secure to the shaft cl an arm G, to which is adjustablysecured a link II, extending to an arm I on a shaft J, mounted inbearings in a housing K. The shaft J carries a toothed segment L,gearing with a pinion m on a shaft M, carrying at its inner end, withinthe housing, a cog-wheel N. The shaft M passes through a sleeve 0,secured to the housing, as indicated in Fig. 5, and surrounded by a hubor pawl-carrier P, which is adapted to move about it on an axiscoincident with the axis of the shaft M. This hub has a pair of arms P,which embrace a cam Q, on a shaft Q, carrying a grooved pulley R, whichis belted to a pulley a 011 the shaftof one of the rollers A. The hub Pcarries a pair of gravity-pawls p 19, adapted to engage with thecog-wheel N. A detent p engages with the cog-wheel to steady it, butpermits it to move in either direction when acted upon by the pawls. Bythis organization as long as the mill is in operation motion is impartedto the pulley R, and the cam Q is continuously operated to act upon thearms I" of the hub P. The arrangement is such that the hub is oscillatedabout its axis and the pawls p p are correspondingly oscillated, and iffree to engage with the cog-wheel N would turn it in a directioncorresponding to the movement of the pawls. In order, however, tocontrol the action of the pawls on the cog-wheel, I provide a shield S,and secure it to the shaft e, which carries the receiver E. The shield Sis approximately circular or diskshaped, and is larger in diameter thanthe cog-wheel N, but is cut away at s for a short distance, thearrangement being such that when the cut-away portion 8 is beneath oneof the pawls or beneath the path traveled by one of the pawls it is freeto engage with the cogwheel; but when the cut-away portion is not underthe pawl it is held away from the cogwheel and does not act upon it tomove it. hen, therefore, the shield is so located that neither of thepawls can act upon the cogwheel, the cam maybe continuously actuatedwithout turning the cog-wheel and without changing the position of thegate, and this is the arrangement when the receiver is in the desiredposition; but when the receiver is moved out of its position by a changein the quantity of grain fed the shield is shifted and allows one of thepawls to act upon the cogwheel, and thereby to impart motion to thefeed-gate to change its position. As soon, however, as the amount ofgrain fed reaches the predetermined degree the receiver assumes itsoriginal position and the pawls are thrown out of operation again.

The mechanism is so nicely adjusted that the feed-gate is made to letpass the predetermined amount of grain uniformly, and as soon as anychange in this amount is felt by the receiver the position of thefeed-gate is correspondingly changed to compensate for this variation.

IIO

ITS

.I do not limit myself to the mechanism just described, and that I neednot necessarily use a valve or gate of ordinary construction, I haveshown in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings a modification in which, insteadof employing a valve or gate, I employa movable spout,

the degree. of inclination of which determines the amount of grain orlike material fed. In this modification I have also shown how the spoutor adjusting device for the grain or passage maybe actuated byfluid-pressure, such as water-power, and instead of showing a grid Ihave shown a flat plate.

The hopper C is provided with a dischargepipe T, which has hinged to ita spout T, connected by a link i and an arm 25 on a shaft 15 in turnconnected by an arm t to a link 25,

attached to the end of a piston-rod 15 The piston U works up and down ina cylinder U, provided at each end with ports a, controlled by a valveto, working in a valve-chest'u The valve is connected by an arm /U witha shaft V, to which the receiver E is attached and which also carries aweighted lever F.

lVater or other fluid is supplied through a pipe IV, and an overflow ordischarge pipe w, having an air-vent w, is connected with each end ofthe cylinder U, as indicated. The area or cross-section of the pipe w issmaller than that of the feed pipes or passages, and the arrangement issuch, as will be clear by an inspection of the drawings, that thefluidpressure may be made to cause the piston to move up or down andcorrespondingly change the inclination of the spout T. The mechanism isso adjusted that by giving to the spout T a greater or less degree ofinclination it is made to deliver more or less grain corresponding inamount to the amount which the receiver is adjusted to let pass-that isto say, if the amount of grain fed to the receiver increases ordecreases orvaries from the predetermined amount the inclination of thespout will be correspondingly varied to regulate the supply, so that itshall resume the predetermined amount.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a further modifica tion where myinvention isadapted to mechanism for supplying water for irrigating purposes. Thechute or flume X is provided with a gate 0c, connected with a lever 00,pivoted on a standard 410 A link or pitman 00 e011- nects the lever 01;with a piston as, working vertically in a cylinder 00 having anentranceport 1 and a waste-pipe y of smaller area. A valve 466 isarranged to reciprocate or slide loosely in a valve-chamber 00 having anopening g in the bottom and to which water is supplied through a branchpipe 00 The arrangement is such that when the loosely-fitting valve isclosed water will continuously but slowly pass to and from the cylinder,and the weight of the piston and gate is supported by a water-cushionbelow the piston. The valve is connected to an arm 00, secured to theshaft e to which the receiver E is attached. The shaft-e is here shownas supported on a bracket or hanger Z, and a spring .2 connects thehanger with the receiver and is provided with adjusting devices 2, bywhich the resistance of the receiver may be regulated-that is to say, bythis mechanism the receiver may be set to receive a predeterminedquantity of water without causing the gate-operating devices to act; butwhen the supply of water varies the position of the receiver will vary,and consequently the valve 00 will be shifted to either admit waterfreely to lift the piston and raise the gate or to cut off or impede theflow of water and allow the gate to fall.

When the gate is thus adjusted to deliver the predetermined amount, thereceiver and the valve mechanism will assume their normal position.

Further modifications of mechanism for carrying out my invention mightbe illustrated, and a further enumeration of the dif ferent kinds ofmaterial or substances the flow of which might be regulated could be setforth; but enough has been shown and described to make clear that myinvention is not confined to any particular apparatus for regulating theflow of any particular material, and

\Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. An apparatus for regulating,governing or controlling the supply of a fluid, such as grain or water,comprising a receiver onto which the fluid is delivered, a gate ordevice for opening and closing or adjusting a fluidpassage,gate-operating mechanism, and devices connected with the receiver andmoved by it independently of the movement of the gate-operatingmechanism to control the ac tion thereof.

2. An apparatus for regulating, governing or controlling the supply of afluid, such as grain or water, comprising a receiver onto which thefluid is delivered, a gate or device for opening and closing oradjusting a fluidpassage,'means for adjusting the receiver to resist orimpede the passage of a predetermined quantity of fluid, gate-operatingmechanism, and devices connected with the receiver and moved by itindependently of the movement of the gate-operating mechanism to controlthe action thereof.

3. An apparatus for regulating, governing or controlling the supply of afluid, such as grain or water, comprising a receiver onto which thefluid is delivered, adjustable counterbalancing devices for thereceiver, a gate or device for opening and closing or adjusting afluid-passage, power-driven gate-operating mechanism, and devicesconnected With the receiver and moved by it independently of themovement of the gate-operating mechanism to control the action thereof.

4:. An apparatus for regulating, governing or controlling the supply ofa fluid, comprising a receiver onto which the fluid is delivcred, a gateor device for opening and closing or adjusting a fluid-passage,gate-operating devices, power-driven mechanism for actuating them, anddevices connected with the re ceiver for applying the power-drivenmechanism to the gate-operating devices to effect the adjustment of thegate.

5. An apparatus for regulating, governing or controlling the supply of afluid, comprising a receiver onto Which the fluid is delivered, a gateor device for opening and closing or adjusting a fluid-passage,gate-operating devices, continuously-actuated power-driven mechanism foracting on the gate-operating devices, and devices connected with andoperated by the receiver for causing the powerdriven mechanism to beapplied to the gateoperating devices.

6. An apparatus for regulating, governing or controlling the supply of afluid, comprising a receiver onto which the fluid is delivered, a gateor device for opening and closing or adjusting a fluid-passage, acog-wheel, mechanism connecting the cog-wheel with the gate, apawl-carrier having pawls adapted to engage with the cog-wheel, a camfor ac tuating the pawl-carrier, mechanism for op erating the cam, and ashield connected with the receiver for regulating the action of thepawls.

7. The combination with the hopper of a mill, of a gate for opening andclosing or adjusting the grain-passage from the hopper, a receiver belowthe gate, counterbalancing devices for the receiver, gate-operatingdevices, substantially such as described, powerdriven mechanism foractuating the gate-operating devices, and devices connected with thereceiver for controlling the action of the power-driven mechanism on thegate-operating devices.

8. The combination with the feed-hopper of a mill, of a gate forregulating the dischargeopening therein,rolls arranged below the gate, areceiver below the rolls, a shaft to which the receiver is connected, acog-wheel, mechanism connecting the cog-wheel with the gate, apawl-carrier, pawls thereon adapted to engage With the cog-Wheel,mechanism for actuating the pawl-carrier, anda shield applied to theshaft of the receiver for controlling the action of the pawls on thecog-wheel.

In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto subscribed my name.

KENNEDY DOUGAN,

Vitnesses:

LLOYD B. WIGHT, O. M. BROOKE.

